Chapter 1
''Chapter 1: The Journey Begins'' Chaos is reigning on the domain of Allucaneet Kingdom this night. With the King and Queen gone, the tyrannical Thirstquencher Empire has began its assault on Allucaneet Palace. The brave infantry of Allucaneet Palace have done their best to hold the enemy back, but the power of the empire was far too great. Things weren't looking good for the kingdom and its citizens, and it looked as if Allucaneet would fall. However, a possible remedy was at this disposal of the palace's residents, and with things as bad as they were, it looked as if they had no other choice but to use their last resort... Beneath the Palace With bedlam rampant on the surface, and people being captured left and right, only a handful of the palace residents made it to the summoning room beneath the palace: Steward Ribson, Butler Livers, and Princess Fillet, whom had just made it down to the room, joining Scribe Shanky and Alchemist Leanman, both of whom were already present when the other three had arrived. The soldiers of Allucaneet elected to stay above ground and hold off the Thristquencher soldiers so as to give time for the summoning, and though the princess and the others were sad they couldn't come with them, they were at the same time grateful for their heroics, and wished them luck in the battle before heading down to the summoning room. The Coming of a Hero Journey to the Spiral Tower The Riddle of the Four Knights Upon his arrival at the location of the Spiral Tower, Musashi is astonished to see that no tower is present--just a stone head in the middle of a large pool of water. Baffled, he decides to look at the note he was given to see if it explains to him what to do. The first part of the note reads: "THE PATH WILL NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU SACRIFICE A WARRIOR." Not understanding at first, Musashi quickly determines that the statues have something to do with the riddle. And with that, Musashi runs around the whole pool, destroying each of the statues and pressing the buttons underneath each one, while also avoiding the magical attacks of the stone head. Once all statues were destroyed, the whole area shook as the Spiral Tower rose from beneath the Stone Head Guardian, lifting high into the sky until it had reached its peak. Now that the tower had revealed itself, it was time for the fencer to begin his ascent up the side of the looming monolith. Obstacles such as large stone wheel and spike-covered columns were rolled down at Musashi as he scaled the spiral pathway, but these were simple for the fencer to evade. At the end of the path, Musashi found a doorway, indicating Musashi had to enter the tower itself before getting to the top, which felt more of an annoyance than a real problem to the undeterred fencer, who trudged on through to the innards of Spiral Tower. The Belly of the Tower Now inside the Spiral Tower, Musashi could see what decay and pestilence existed within the tower: Sphere bats flying all around, liquid dripping from the ceiling, and corpses hanging from ropes. Not only that, several of the blue Thirstquencher soldiers were present here, attempting to find their own way to the top of the tower and to stop Musashi from getting any further. Musashi was unsure of where to go from here, so he looked at the second part of the note: "WHEN THE GUARDIAN FLAME IS BLANKETED WITH DARKNESS, A LIGHT WILL LEAD YOU ABOVE." Not knowing the meaning of these words, Musashi nevertheless began to make his way up the tower, easily dealing with the bats and soldiers as he ran up the spiraling path of the Spiral Tower. When Musashi got to a certain point in the path, he looked to his left and saw a giant bell hanging over a large flame. He began to wonder if the message had anything to do with that particular flame, and continued up the spiral pathway. After going up a bit more, Musashi looked at the bell again and realized that the message meant for him to put out the flame beneath the bell to open up the next path. Upon reaching the proper vantage point, Musashi utilized the "Gunshot" ability to shoot the rope holding up the bell, causing the bell to fall onto the flame and disperse it completely. Immediately following the flame's snuffing, light began to shine down from the tower's ceiling, and the doors at the top of the path opened up. Making haste, Musashi hurried up to the top of the pathway, passed through the doors and stopped on a ledge beneath a pillar of light. In a literal flash, Musashi was swiftly teleported to the very top of Spiral Tower. Obtaining Lumina Upon his arrival to the very top of the tower, Musashi could see that it was now daytime. However, that was not the only thing he noticed, as when he turned around, he was surprised to see a giant stone head sitting atop a stone pedestal in the center of the roof. Musashi made his away around to the opposite side of the roof, where now he could see the stone head's face. But this was not all that Musashi noticed. Extending from the roof was a ledge, which in length was over half the diameter of the Spiral Tower's roof. At the end of this ledge was the very time Musashi had ventured to this location to obtain: the sword of Luminescence, Lumina! However, a complication was quickly noticed: Lumina was entirely surrounded by a powerful forcefield being generated by the eyes of the stone head. Surely there was some way to bypass this defense mechanism, but it could not be all that simple, considering that it was the Sword of Luminescence that was being protected. Musashi soon discovered hat when he stepped on a pad at the entrance to the ledge, the forcefield disappeared. He now knew how to lower the forcefield, but now he had to figure out how to push down on the pad and grab the sword at the same time. About that time, Musashi noticed Thristquencher soldiers that were now on top of the Spiral Tower. Considering how strong Musashi was, these guys wouldn't be a problem for him to take out—but then he got an idea. After assimilating the ability "Stun" from one of the soldiers, Musashi lures another one to the pad, and used his new ability to stun the soldier so he would stay still on the pad, thus enabling Musashi to go retrieve the now unprotected Lumina! Musashi ran over, grabbed the sword's handle, and after tugging a few times, pulled the weapon from the stone, lifting it up in the air as triumph, for Brave Fencer Musashi at last had retrieved the Sword of Luminescence! Fleeing the Head The race was on now. As the stone head rolled down the side of the tower, Musashi raced with all his might alongside the tower's side as well, leaping over the parts of the walkway as he went down. After reaching the bottom, Musashi landed a short distance away from the tower base, just before the stone head smashed into the ground directly behind him. Musashi taunted the stone head for outrunning it, but this victory was short-lived as a single red glow emanated emanated from each of the head's eyes, and Musashi knew it was not over yet. Musashi promptly about faced and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Immediately following his retreat, the head began rolling itself along the ground, giving chase to the fencer in the hopes of crushing him and retrieving Lumina. Unfortunately for the head, Musashi's strength enabled him to be a fast runner, and he was capable of keeping ahead of the stone head. The same could not be said for the Thirstquencher soldiers who were wandering the path during this time, with each and every one of them bowled over by the unstoppable mass of sentient stone. Finally, Musashi came within sight of the castle; he was almost home free--but the stone head knew that, too, and picked up speed. Musashi was almost at the gate, and did not relent in his quick pace. He ran and ran, until at last he reached the gate, and did not hesitate to run right through. Unfortunately for the stone head, the strength of the gate's walls was too great, and the head was promptly stopped dead in its tracks when it rammed against the sides of the walls, causing the stone head guardian to have failed in its duty. Musashi didn't take notice of this, naturally; he had his own mission to complete, so he could get the heck out of this place and back home--though that desire would not be fulfilled anytime soon, as Musashi would soon find out... Trouble With the Princess Musashi did not cease running even after he had escaped the stone head. He ran right across the castle's drawbridge, smashing right through the door and leaving a hole that was perfectly shaped as his body. Now on the other side of the wall, Musashi found himself int he castle's throne room, and was immediately shocked by what he beheld: Princess Fillet was tied up and being held by a large muscular guy with a tiny cape and a strange mask. Musashi demanded to know who the guy was, and the princess' captor revealed himself as Rootrick, whom was the Second Lieutenant of the Thirstquencher Empire(though he did not inform Musashi of his title when the two first met). Rootrick returned Musashi's question, and Princess Fillet answered for Musashi by calling out his name. Rootrick then laughed out loud, humored and unable to believe Musashi was the hero summoned to save Allucaneet Kingdom. He then "asked" Musashi to hand over Lumina in exchange for the princess, to which Musashi refused and demanded Rootrick hand over Fillet. Musashi ran forward in an attempt to save Fillet, but Rootrick suddenly teleported himself about five feet away from Musashi. Right as he does this, a ring of fireballs falls around the hoodwinked fencer, trapping him. Rootrick stated how the flames "can't be putted out easily", and Musashi questions out loud what he should do. Fillet loudly told Musashi to use Lumina, which Musashi had momentarily forgotten about during this situation. Musashi uses the power of Lumina, and spins himself around, effortlessly knocking out the magic flames with the sword. Musashi laughed in victory, saying that he's got Rootrick now. Princes Fillet cheered and told Musashi to "bash this hunk of lard", to which Rootrick responded promptly by striking the princess in her head and knocking her unconscious. Ironically, he right afterwards told her to shut up or else she's "gonna get a lickin'". He then bids Musashi a sarcastic farewell, and teleports away with Princess Fillet, with a shocked Musashi shouting for him to stop, but the young fencer was too late...although, he was soon to see the princess being kidnapped won't be his only problem... Battle with the Steam Knight Musashi did not stay shocked for long, as immediately after Rootrick's departure, there came a heavy rumbling that shook the very foundation of the castle, surprising the fencer, making him wonder what the cause of the unknown trembling was. With a tremendous crash, a colossal figure burst through the ceiling of the throne room, landing in front of the astounded Musashi. It was the giant mechanical monstrosity of the Thristquencher Empire: the Steam Knight, who had been summoned to defeat Musashi. Despite the size of his latest opponent, Musashi was not intimidated. He ran towards the Steam Knight and yelled, "Come on! You're history, pal!", and the fight was on. The Steam Knight attacked Musashi using the wrecking ball on its right side, with the fencer dodging the robot's attacks as it smashed up the floor of the great hall. The Steam Knight also shot fire at Musashi, but he managed to use Lumina to put out the fires as he did before. Though the Steam Knight appeared strong, it was not unbeatable, as Musashi's super strength gave him an advantage against this mechanical menace. Combining the power of Lumina with his own strength, Musashi smashed apart the armor on the Steam Knight's legs that were facing him, causing the steampunk giant to collapse onto the floor, though only on its damaged leg. Immediately after this, the flag on the front of the Steam Knight falls off, revealing a Binchotite crystal that was clearly the Steam Knight's source of power. Seizing the opportunity, Musashi relentlessly begins bashing the crystal with Lumina, majorly damaging the Steam Knight. His attack didn't last long, as the Steam Knight was able to regain its footing and resume the attack, although now Musashi knew how to defeat this opponent. Repeating the same technique on the Steam Knight's other leg, Musashi attacked the robot's crystal, and after striking it enough times, the Steam Knight is sent skidding backwards, colliding into the wall on the opposite side of the hall. Musashi ran up to the Steam Knight, used his great strength to lift the metal behemoth over his head, and threw it right through the castle wall, smashing the wall to pieces! Now the full extent of Musashi's strength was exhibited, and the Steam Knight was the unlucky fellow to be caught in the furious fencer's path... Though it was just smashed through a wall, the Steam Knight was not close to finished. Now in the castle's courtyard, the Steam Knight gets up and turns the bottom half of its body around, so its other two legs are facing Musashi, with both legs still retaining their armor, so it was time for Musashi to repeat the same tactic as before. However, this fight would not be as easy, for along the path through the courtyard, there stood many pillars, and the Steam Knight took full advantage of these structures. At times, the Steam Knight would either knock down pillars with its wrecking ball, or grab one with its arm and heave the pillar at Musashi as attacks to try and defeat the stalwart fencer. Even with this additional armament, Musashi still managed to outmaneuver the Steam Knight, attacking its legs just as he had done before. After doing enough damage on the robot's crystal, the robot was sent flying back to the other end of the courtyard, knocking down any still upright pillars as it did so. Musashi ran up the downed robot, picked it up, and heaved it through the courtyard wall, the wall smashing to pieces. Musashi and the Steam Knight were now in the castle's village, where the staff of Allucaneet Castle stayed(before they were captured, that is). With its legs unarmored, the Steam Knight had no more weak points on its exterior, so things were not looking so good for the brave fencer. Once it was standing upright, the Steam Knight leapt high into the air, coming back down at Musashi, who managed to avoid the massive stomping attack. At the same time, he noticed that when the Steam Knight landed back on the ground, its knees bent downwards, which caused the Binchotite crystal to reveal itself. However, this was only temporary, as when the Steam Knight stood upright once more, the crystal retracted into the robot's body. Musashi knew this was the only way he could defeat the Steam Knight now, but that was naught but a minor inconvenience for a guy like Musashi. Musashi used simple tactics for this part, dodging the Steam Knight's leaping attacks and attacking the crystal when it came out, though the Steam Knight continued additional destruction while fighting Musashi, smashing houses in the village with its wrecking ball and even crushing one to pieces with one of its leaping attacks. All the while this was happening, Musashi took every opportunity to pound the robot's binchotite crystal with Lumina, chipping away at its power piece by piece. Eventually, Musashi managed to damage the Steam Knight's crystal enough to send the machine flying back into the side wall on the right side of the village. When this happened, the Steam Knight's wrecking ball broke off from the chain, costing the already battered robot its best weapon. Just as the last two times, Musashi lifted up the Steam Knight and threw it through the wall. This time, however, there was no more castle on the other side of the wall—just a steep cliff! The Steam Knight fell all the way down, crashing onto the ground at the bottom of the cliff. Though very damaged and leaking both steam and smoke, the Steam Knight was still not beaten yet. As expected, Musashi was not finished, either, and approached the edge of the cliff, holding the Steam Knight's wrecking ball above his head. "Hey, you forgot something!!" he shouts as he heaves the wrecking ball down at the Steam Knight. The r obot burst into flames, and after a few moments, exploded into pieces, leaving a charred piece of land where it had met its demise. Overlooking his defeated opponent, Musashi shouts, "That's what you get when you try to mess with me!!". He then follows up by saying, "Oh, almost forgot! I wonder where that idiot Rootrick took the Princess...?" before collapsing onto his back and passing out from exhaustion... Category:Chapters